If I use GPL-Licensed bug tracking software, does the actual software I write have to be GPL as well?

Question

I'm looking for good free bug-tracking software.

I notice that some (i.e. Mantis) are GPL-licensed.

Am I allowed to use Mantis to track bugs for commercial, non-GPL software that we are writing?

Answer 1

It's fully independent the license of the software you are using to bug-track of the license (GPL) of your own software.

You can write commercial code and manage bugs with GPL sofware.

Answer 2

Nope, absolutely not. It's not considered derivative work.

Answer 3

If George Lucas uses Sony cameras to film Star Wars Episode VII, does Sony get all the money? Of course not; in fact, they might pay him for endorsing their product!

Please never forget: the GPL is not "viral"! This concept of a "viral license" was invented by a Microsoft-sponsored marketing firm for an anti-Linux FUD campaign. Nothing could be further from the truth: even if the GPL were viral, such clauses would simply be illegal and thus null and void under pretty much any IP law anywhere in the world.

Answer 4

If that were the case then everyone doing Mac OS X development using XCode would have to GPL their software since it is all built using GCC.

You'd only have to worry about the GPL in this case if you were intending to use any of the Mantis code in your own software. Just using Mantis as a bug tracker is not a problem.

Answer 5

Straight from the horse's mouth (i.e., the official GPL FAQ):

Can I use GPL-covered editors such as GNU Emacs to develop non-free programs? Can I use GPL-covered tools such as GCC to compile them?

Yes, because the copyright on the editors and tools does not cover the code you write. Using them does not place any restrictions, legally, on the license you use for your code.

Answer 6

Unless you use some of the software code for your own project.